


The Wise and The Genius

by haikyuuobsessor



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AGAIN ANGST, Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Depends on how you define happy, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, Happy Ending, I repeat, M/M, Slow Pace, You Have Been Warned, this is super angsty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-16 17:36:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9282659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haikyuuobsessor/pseuds/haikyuuobsessor
Summary: [DISCONTINUED]After 10 years graduating from Karasuno, Tsukishima never thought of meeting his high school crush again, ever. But then he did, in the most inconvenient way possible.





	1. Chapter 1

The cardio wing was tranquil that night, that's exactly what Tsukishima wished for. He has been in the hospital for more than 24 hours and in four hours his shift is up. Until then, he hoped that every patient will still be alive by the time he gets out of the hospital for a well-deserved rest and shower. They were short on staff that evening and that left him, a fourth-year resident, an attending, two more residents and three interns in charge of the patients in the wing that night.

“The starting lineup from Japan are-” The commentator’s voice burst through the television which caught his attention as he looked up from a patient’s file at the nurse's station. It was the semi-final of the FIVB Volleyball World Cup match and most of those players that were being announced were very familiar to him.

“- Ushijima Wakatoshi, Wing Spiker. Sakusa Kiyoomi, Wing Spiker. Hinata Shouyou, Wing Spiker. Kageyama Tobio, Setter. Nishinoya Yuu, Libero.”

“Gosh, he's more handsome every time I look at him.”

“Yes, he is. I mean, look at those blue eyes.” The nurses squealed looking at the nation’s very famous genius setter as his face and others were shown on the television screen. Tsukishima decided to check up on his patient.

He knocked on the door slightly before slowly pushing it open to reveal himself to the 20-year old male that was being treated for pulmonary edema. He had gone through his surgery two days ago and now undergoing recovery as every stat was being monitored to make sure the surgery went well.

“Hi, hope you don't mind me barging in, just wanna look at your chart here.” _And see if the interns screw up again._

“Nah Tsukishima-sensei, you're good. But you should join me, the game’s starting.” One last look over the charts and seeing no mistakes in it he glanced at the TV screen and the game already started with Brazil leading 2-0. _Hmm, they're a bit lagging this early. May-_

“They're a bit lagging this early in the match, guess even professional players need their time to get their momentum before getting their rhythm.” Tatsun, the patient added.

“I guess they do. But relax, they'll get there. And when they do get their rhythm going, Brazil’s gonna have a hard time.”

“-and that's a service ace by Japan’s no.5, Kageyama Tobio! Everyone can count on the resident genius setter we have in our team who is very famous for his all roundedness and more importantly his skills as a setter.”

“I like him. He's my favorite player.” Tsukishima indulged his patient’s interest in the game and sat down next to him to watch the game.

“Well he’s starting to get pumped up.” Tatsun nodded at that and he started blabbering about how he always watches volleyball games with his parents on weekends and he's so proud for landing a spot in his volleyball’s team.

“Oh, what is your position?”

“I’m kinda tall, so they have me as a middle blocker. But I want to be a setter.” Koganegawa apparently flashed through his mind at that.

“Why don't you tell them that you want to become a setter instead?”

“Because we already have a setter, and he is awesome while I’m terrible.”

“Well, there's always room for improvements and anyway, it wouldn't exactly be a waste for someone rather than the setter learns how to set the ball.”

“Urm, true. You sounded so familiar with the game, did you play when you're in college?” He laughed at that.

“Oh no kid, I was a med student, and no, I didn't have time to play sports, at least not competitively. I played in high school. Nothing flashy, but it adds up to my high school resume.” Both of them laughed at that. For the time being, let’s just keep the fact that he played on the same team with three now famous Japanese volleyball players to himself.

His pager went off and he excused himself but only to be found that he was dragged to the orthopedics wing by another peer resident, Tsubaki. They went to med school together, landed the same internship at the same hospital and now, both were still working and alive at the same place. It started off as a competition for the two of them. Medical, there's never not a competition, but third year of residence came in and Tsukishima fell in love with hearts and capillaries while his other mate was into bones and alike. So, that's when their competition somewhat subsided and now they can be called as best friends inside the hospital. Yamaguchi was still Tsukishima’s trusted best friend, but since now he basically live and breathe in the hospital, he found another one of his species and they clicked.

“Any reason why you paged me here?” The said male hooked his arm around Tsukishima's neck even though he was significantly four inches shorter than the blonde before pointing a finger at a certain female patient.

“I shouldn't, I know. But dude, she's hot.” Tsukishima peeled his arm off himself and gave a once over at the patient he spoke off before glaring at his friend.

“You do realize I’m on call to cover almost everyone in my wing, right? Please tell me you didn't just page me for this.”

“Oh come on, there are other residents around and Aki-sensei is on call too right?”

“Yeah but the guy’s in a 12-hour surgery, so that leaves _me_ in charge.”

“12 hours? Man, what is that? A heart transplant?” Tsukishima nodded.

“And why aren't _you_ in it?”

“I had my fair share on heart transplants for the past few months, so he gave it to another younger resident.” They talked after that, grabbed a meal, before Tsubaki got paged for a consult at the ER and as he walked back to the cardio wing, his pager went off. He broke into a dash and went to room 12 as stated and an intern were doing compressions on the patient.

“What happened?”

“Uh-uh, I- uh-”

“Quick Yahiko!”

“She crashed while I was doing her usual checkups, no signs of anything. Her bp was normal, heart rates normal, but her heart went asystole all of a sudden. I didn't know what happened. We already gave her two shots of epinephrine.” He got his hands on the defibrillator.

“Charge to 200.”

“Clear.” The intern stopped her actions and waited for Tsukishima as he placed the paddles on the patient and it jolted her body with a push. They looked at the monitor for a response but nothing. _Damn it. Come on._

“Charge to 250.”

“Clear.” The flat line sound of the monitor was weighing heavily in the air.

It wasn't unusual of course, but it didn't make it any less horrible any time. It gets easier, but it was still unpleasant. He put back the defibrillator and looked back at the intern who was still in shock.

“Call i-

“No!” She started compression again with tears glistening in her eyes. She's an intern, of course this sucks. He was once where she was right now. Losing a patient that early in the job was always heartbreaking.

“She is an amazing patient. She has a son that she loves and loves her. I cannot give up. I won't!”

“Yahiko, stop.” He spoke softly but she wasn't listening. So, he walked up towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Stop! _This_ happens more often than you think. It sucks, I know, every single one of us in this building knows, but it's a part of our job. Now if you wanna be a doctor, get yourself together and call it! Because one thing I can tell you, this isn't going to be the last death you’ll see.” She let out a shaky breath and wiped her tears as he let go of her before looking at her watch.

“Time of death, 3:48.”

“Good job. Go call her son, I’ll tell him, you deserve a break.” She nodded before left the room. He looked back at the now deceased patient and grabbed her chart. She was Aki and another resident’s patient, so usually he won't be telling his family. But since both the doctors assigned to her were still in surgery and he was the one that was in the room, he will take the weight of telling her son that his mother just died. Tsukishima read through her case just to get to know her slightly before her son questions on why not her usual doctors telling him this. _Akiyama Fuhiko._

He also knows all too well that during these times that they will start question his position as a doctor especially if he was an unfamiliar face. Familiarizing himself with their situations will help him convince their family that he did everything he could just as if he has been the one to treat the patients from the start. And there goes his hope on not losing anyone that day.

* * *

“Doctor, the son of Akiyama Fuhiko is here.” He stood up and thanked the nurse that called him. As he walked to room 12, a mop of black hair that was very familiar was seen and something stirred deep in his guts. When the said male turned around that's when he felt all his blood in his body was drained. _Please don't tell me that-_

“Kageyama?” The setter that was playing against Brazil few hours ago looked up and was shocked to see him there. Well, they haven't seen each other since they graduated high school, it only made sense.

“Tsukishima? What are you-” He stood up and wiped a stray tear on his eye and all Tsukishima’s trainings and experiences he had facing the patient’s family before went flying out the window. His throat was dry and seeing Kageyama in this state was not ideal.

“Urm, I was- I was the doctor that treated her last.” The sad _oh_ that escaped his mouth was a dread to Tsukishima. Not helping that all their banters and arguments in high school where he was being a jerk were playing in his mind at that moment. _Damn it Kei, keep it together. The least you can do is explain to him what happened. Friend or not._

He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for your lost. We did everything we could but we failed to bring her back.” Kageyama nodded as he looked back at his mom. _Akiyama?_

“I understand, thank you.”

“Do you want me to call anyone else for you?” Kageyama shook his head as he sat back down next to his mother’s bed. His victory win against Brazil earlier that day wasn't feeling much of a triumph right now. He planned on telling her about his game, even if she doesn't remember who he was. At that thought, his breath hitched but he composed himself just as fast as he broke down when he wiped his face clean.

Tsukishima was still glued on his earlier spot. He should walk away at this moment and give the family some time alone with the patient, but he couldn't. And seeing Kageyama this vulnerable instead of his usual confident and showing no emotions towards situation was definitely a new sight, a sight that he didn't want to witness. But there he was, standing as he looked at his former teammate who leaned towards his mother and gave her a kiss on her forehead before saying _goodbye mom_ to her.

“When can I take her?”

“Here, just sign few forms and you can bring her back as soon as you’d like.” He handed him some papers which he took with a simple _thank you_ before Kageyama looked up at him again and sighed.

“Stop that.” That caught him by surprise.

“Stop wh- Oh, I’ll leav-

“No, stop feeling guilty and beating yourself up.” Kageyama said simply while he filled out the sheet of papers handed to him. 

“You do that, _sometimes_. I know it's not your fault, so give yourself a break Tsukishima.” He stood back up and stared deep into Tsukishima's golden brown eyes under his glasses, as he handed the forms back.

“Aki-sensei told me that she wasn't going to survive for long. So, I was actually waiting for this call. It wasn't your fault, it was just… it was her time already. And thank you. Excuse me, I’ll have to make some calls.”  He got his phone out as he exited the room.

“Yeah sure.” Tsukishima was dumbstruck by that. Somehow Kageyama had _grew up_. It shouldn't be a surprise to him, he definitely would think that he grew out of some of his childish behaviors. But Kageyama was really calm, all the more reasons to feel guilty at everything. He took one of his business cards from his coat and wrote something on its back as he put it back down on the bedside table. Hopefully, Kageyama would take notice of it.

* * *

Tsukishima got home and slumped on his sofa, not even bothering to go to his bed. He sighed deeply and took out his phone to text Yamaguchi.

 

To: Yamaguchi

Hey, have you been contacting Kageyama?

 

From: Yamaguchi

Not much. Why? Have you considered confessing to him now after 10 years of not seeing him?

 

He felt like slamming his phone. Now was not the time, but it's not his best friend’s fault when Yamaguchi didn't know the context of what he's about to tell him. This is why he hated texting, some messages won't get across well enough.

 

To: Yamaguchi

His mom died, under my supervision today. Thought if you still contact him, maybe you can ask him when and where he’ll be having the funeral.

 

From: Yamaguchi

Shit. Sorry, I didn't mean it Tsukki. No, I haven't contacted him. But I do keep in touch with Hinata, maybe he’ll know. I’ll tell you more if I know something.

 

To: Yamaguchi

Okay, thanks.

 

From: Yamaguchi 

Tsukki, are you okay?

 

To: Yamaguchi

Yeah, I’m good.

 

That was a lie, but he really didn't wanna talk about it. Even though worry and guilt was creeping into himself, his exhaustion from work won over his body as he fell asleep on the couch. Thankfully for him and his neck, Tsubaki who was also his housemate came home a couple hours later and woke him up so that he could continue his slumber on his own bed, which he groggily did.

* * *

“Anything?” Everyone shook their heads. Their victory against Brazil during the semi-final was short lasted the minute they saw Kageyama's expression changed after he got a phone call from the hospital. Everyone on the team knew about his mother and also his family's history, so it was understandable that they were worried. The setter had gone through too much.

Hinata's phone pinged indicating that a text just got in and he opened it without skipping a beat, only to find a text from Yamaguchi.

“It's Yamaguchi, sorry guy- wait-” He read the rest of the text he received and his heart dropped.

“Kageyama's mom just passed away.” The room that was quiet before somehow managed to become deafeningly silent when Hinata announced that. But everyone broke out of their trance a few seconds later as the room went hectic with everyone dialing the setter’s number trying to contact him or text him.

“We should go to the hospital.”

“We can’t, the reporters are going to get suspicious. The last thing Kageyama needs right now is a bunch of paparazzi surrounding him asking him about his mother’s death if this news gets out.” Everyone murmured their agreement when Kazuki, their captain said that. Not a second later they all got a text from Kageyama confirming the news and telling them that he won’t be able to play for the finals.

“That idiot. As if we would force him to play.”

“Can’t we postpone the match? No offense Miya-san, not that I don’t trust you, it just seems rude that Kageyama is handling his mother’s funeral but we are all busy playing.” Coach Hibarida sighed hearing Hinata’s statement.

“Yeah, that’s true. But we don’t have much choice. The game must go on, the officials won’t just _postpone_ a match let alone the finals because of something like this. That’s why we have extra players, to sub in during moments like this. Sakusa, can I let you handle Kageyama and keep us up to date about him for tonight?”

The mask wearing male nodded his agreement. Hinata might’ve been Kageyama’s longest friend but he listens to Sakusa more and the wing spiker keeps a close eye on the raven-haired male after they got along quite well in their college team. So, as of right now, Sakusa’s presence and assistance would have been the most adequate. If the setter needs extra helping hands, well there’s the whole locker room ready to spare theirs.

“But, only for tonight. You need your rest by tomorrow’s 4 pm you got me. You’re still playing.” Sakusa was already packing his stuff into his bag as he nodded to the coach’s words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a professional exam this Friday, and here I am sitting in the library supposed to study but god forbid me doing anything even remotely close to that. So, I finished this chapter. The update will be slow. Believe me. And in case if you didn't read the tags above, DISCLAIMER: ANGST!!! So, this is basically a warn for those who doesn't have the heart for these kind of fics.
> 
> And yeah do tell me if there's any mistakes in anything, I tried researching as much as I could, but I'm not a medical student, my knowledge of medicine goes as far as grey's anatomy and scrubs, so not dependable. Mistakes in anything else is also very much appreciated if pointed out. 
> 
> Oh yeah, I know I know, The Ocean Tides, I know................. It's just my mind went blank on that went it starts to deviate to another thing. I'm sorry, But I'll finish it, that I can promise. Don't know when though.
> 
> Anyway, lemme know what you think and have a nice day.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey kid.” Kageyama looked up from his glass of milk to see Sakusa walking towards the table he was occupying in the hospital cafeteria.

“Sakusa-san? Coach sent you, didn't he?” The other male took a seat opposite the setter and nodded at the question directed to him.

Kageyama sighed as he took another sip of the milk. “You should get some rest, maybe do some light training, final is the day after tomorrow.”

“I know, you don't need to tell me that. But I’m good, how are you?” He averted his gaze outside the window that overlooks the busy road and the sky that was getting darker. The hospital was placed in the right spot, just near enough to the city, but far away from all the busyness, thus, the lack of skyscrapers surrounding the hospital building itself. It's easier if the patients decided they wanted to have a walk, at least they get to see some greeneries instead of a bunch of bricks and mortar.

“I’m good.” Sakusa knew he would say that.  Even when they've known each other for many many years, even when the setter knows well enough that the wing spiker in front of him _will_ make him talk, he still wouldn't open up to him when asked the first time. But no one blames him, considering what he had gone through, it was a surprise that he even gave Sakusa a chance, even though it usually happens after a few threats were being thrown at him. He wasn't much of a talker, and his confidence in court and off, now that was something that he eventually grew up with. Not that everyone ever questioned about what happened during his childhood, besides the _King of the Court_ thing. It's amazing that after Kageyama told him what happened that Sakusa realized it made sense he acted the way he did. No one including him ever stopped for one second to ask the setter, what happened between his second and third year of middle school that drastically changed his behavior.

“Kageyama.” He gently placed a hand on top of the setter’s but he wasn't budging.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Me too.” Kageyama's composure faltered for a second as he said that but it disappeared just as fast.

“Do you need any help with the funeral arrangements?” He shook his head and finally looked back at Sakusa.

“No, it's all settled.”

“Settled? That was… fast. You sure?”

“Yeah, she arranged almost everything beforehand, the casket, cemetery location, so I just had to call the people in charge of those. I’d arranged the transportation to bring back my mom’s body back to Miyagi. Called the flowers, some light catering, I just need to call my lawyer. It's going to be this Saturday, because I-” Kageyama fiddled with his fingers slightly as he stared down not meeting the wing spiker’s gaze. “-I still want you guys to come if you all don't mind.”

_Gosh this kid._

“Hey.”

“Hey, look at me Kageyama.” He finally did but wearing a worried look.

“Of course we would. Hell, Hinata even suggested to postpone the game if we could. There's always gonna be another game, but there's only one mother, well- uh- you know what I mean.” Kageyama smiled at that.

“Thank you.”

* * *

He woke up to a few messages by Yamaguchi. For a second, his mind was blank and he was actually taking his time to get up from his bed before his calmness got washed away by the memory of Kageyama and his mother.

 

From: Yamaguchi

The funeral is in Miyagi, this Saturday so that his whole team can come visit. I'm going to tell our former teammates.

 

From: Yamaguchi

Are you coming? Or you can't get a leave this Saturday? If you want to go, Yachi and me will be driving there.

 

_Saturday. Do I have anything on Saturday? I can't remem-_

“Tsukishima? You awake? You're gonna be late if you still haven't showered.” Despite his playful demeanor, Tsubaki is very much his mother when they’re at home, he's the one that cooks, well Tsukishima tries sometimes only to almost burn their whole apartment unit once and his housemate banned him from cooking ever again. He will remind Tsukishima to always do his dishes as well as his laundries.

“I’m awake.” _And dead inside._

 

To: Yamaguchi

I think I can get a leave for this weekend but I’ll get back to you on that later. Thanks.

 

From: Yamaguchi

No problem.

 

He went to the hospital and filled a leave form for the weekend when the chief of surgery went up to him.

“Oh, you're requesting a leave? That's rare.”

“Yeah, I have to attend a funeral for a friend’s mother. So, I’ll commute back to Miyagi since it's being held there.”

“Ah, I see. Too bad, I thought of sending you to the World Heart Conference.” Tsukishima looked back up from his form to his chief.

“You mean the one in Osaka?” The older male nodded.

“Me? You want me to go?”

“Yes, you're a brilliant surgeon, and your name came up when I asked the cardiology attendings on who to choose to go for the annual conference.” Tsukishima cursed internally. He totally forgot about the conference which he already set his heart on since he catered his career path towards being a cardiologist. Every year they would send a resident to go with an attending to the conference, of course he knew about it.

The conference is a once in a lifetime opportunity where he could definitely gain more knowledge on the field and meet extraordinary people that contributed towards it. Maybe he could send a bouquet to Kageyama instead, he wasn't even that close to the setter, not in high school and certainly not after that, surely he’ll understand. Kageyama will also do the same if he was put into Tsukishima's shoes right at the moment. _Right?_

The chief’s pager went off breaking his trance.

“I’ll have to leave, but let me know what you think.” Tsukishima nodded at that as the other male left him with his ambivalent thoughts alone. A glance to room 12 and Kageyama's sadden expression came flashing back in his mind. The doctor grunted slightly as he stared back at his filled form.

“Why the long face?” Tsubaki perched next to him and looked down at the paper on Tsukishima’s hand.

“I didn't know you were going away this weekend?”

“I'm not sure yet. The patient I lost yesterday is my friend's mom and I was thinking of going to the funeral but it clashes with the heart conference that I’ve been wanting to go. And now I don't know which one to choose.” His friend looked at him unimpressed.

“Stop whining like a baby. Dude, I think you already _know_ what to choose. You just don't want to admit it.” With that his friend left before his words could really sink into Tsukishima's head. But when it did, he knew Tsubaki was right and he went to find the chief who was in his office.

“I’ve made my decision. I would like to request a leave this weekend.” The chief smiled at his words as he took the leave form and signed his approval.

“Personally, I think you’ve made a good decision.”

“And why is that?”

“The conference is definitely beneficial from a working standpoint, but it's always good to make time for your friends and family. Relax, there's always other conferences you can go to, but friends don't come by that easily.” _Yeah, well I’m not even sure if I can be considered a friend from Kageyama's standpoint._  

He immediately texted Yamaguchi back as he got out of the chief’s office.

 

To: Yamaguchi

My leave’s approved for this weekend.

 

From: Yamaguchi

Great, come by on Friday around 4.

 

Friday came by faster than he thought as the hospital got swamped with patients he had to treat and follow up. It was exhausting, but somehow the rush of it all pumps him up, Tsukishima liked being able to get to the root of a patient’s problem, the harder the better. He thrives for that kind of challenge and that’s what made him a strong surgeon and next year he won’t be a resident no more.

“Hey, right on time. We’re about to put our bags in the trunk.”

“Hi Tsukishima.”

“Hi, Yachi-san, here let me get that for you.” Tsukishima took the bag from Yachi’s hold as she got out of the house and walked towards the car.

“You boys act like I can’t do a single thing.” Yamaguchi just smiled at that as he eyed his heavily pregnant wife.

“No, this is just me being a gentleman.” Tsukishima added while he opened the passenger side door for her to enter.

“Yeah right. Thank you anyway.” They all got into the car and began the 5-hour drive back to Miyagi.

Yamaguchi dropped Tsukishima at his parent’s house before going back to his own parent’s place. It has been a while since the last time he set foot in his old house, what with his hectic schedule as a surgeon and his last memory of it was probably from their last Christmas which was about five months ago.

“I’m home.” His mother appeared at the door and greeted him as he entered the house.

“Welcome home. How was your drive here?” Tsukishima walked to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water.

“It’s fine, I wasn’t the one driving anyway.” He finished his drink before putting his glass back in the sink as he took his bag to put it in his room.

“I’m going to go to Kageyama’s place after this, just to see if he needed any helping hands.”

“Okay, don’t forget to bring your keys with you.”

“Okay.”

* * *

The road he was walking towards was filled with people, or more like reporters. With vans from local and other news company surrounding a huge mansion. Tsukishima stared back on the address given to him of Kageyama’s house because he wasn’t expecting the setter’s childhood home would be some luxurious bungalow. He walked up to one of the people standing around the house to get a confirmation.

“Hi, excuse me. What is this all about actually?” The guy who was leaning on the side of the van while fanning himself using a hat looked back at him.

“Oh this is Kageyama Tobio’s house. You know Japan’s volleyball setter. We heard the news that his mother died three days ago, that’s why he wasn’t playing in the finals. So, we’re here to interview him and get official words from the guy instead.” For some reason, Tsukishima didn’t like any of the words the guy had given him.

“So…, why are you here again?” The guy started to look mad at Tsukishima but not being successful at it as the blonde is far taller than him making his attempt to look intimidating futile.

“Are you deaf or something? I just told you that his mother-

“-died. Yeah, I know. The question here is, are _you_ deaf? Or just maybe heartless? The guy just lost his mother and you, _all of you_ couldn’t have it in that little brain of yours to actually give him some space to mourn for his mother’s death.” Tsukishima's voice was deliberately getting louder to grab the attention of the ones around them, hoping that these idiots would come to their senses of their fault.

“Well what do you care? Who are you to him any- Wait a minute. I know who you are. You’re Tsukishima Kei. One of Kageyama’s teammates when he was in Karasuno.” Shit, that caught the attention of even more people as some murmurs went around and the reporters were starting to turn around facing him. But before they could all swamp his face with microphones, cameras and questions, a hand pulled him out of the crowd as a group of tough looking males pushed the reporters out of their way. Tsukishima looked back to see Tendou on his left side as he escorted him into Kageyama’s house.

As they reached inside the gates of the bungalow, Tendou reprimanded the surgeon.

“You shouldn’t do that. Speak to the reporters.” That definitely caught him off guard.

“Well they were being disrespectful, someone should give them a piece of mind.” Soon they entered the house but before Tsukishima could go in further to look for Kageyama, Tendou had him glued to his place in front of the door.

“Look, I know that you think you’re being nice and helpful towards a friend, but that’s not how you do it. If you respect Kageyama, don’t ever do it again. Some reporters aren’t very dignified and have very little care about others’ wellbeing, so you can give them _your piece of mind_ as much as you would like, but they won’t listen or even worse, they’d twist your words and the next thing you know your face on the cover of some magazine or newspaper with headlines of your words that got out of context. Believe me, it’s not worth it.” Tsukishima sighed as he nodded at Tendou because he agreed with what he said. He was very much aware of it, but never had he encountered a situation that he would have to confront to reporters. But now that he did, his knowledge about bad publicity just got out of his mind.

“Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t. Thanks for saving me anyway back there.” They walked deeper into the house when Tsukishima realized that everyone on the team was already there. Ushijima walked up to the both of them.

“Thank you for coming so fast Tendou.”

“Anytime Wakatoshi. How did the news get out anyway?” The wing spiker shrugged.

“I don’t even know. But someone probably blabbed because they couldn’t just speculate his mother had passed away out of nowhere.” They both started catching up with each other when Tsukishima started to walk towards Sugawara, a familiar face.

“Hi, Suga-san.”

“Ah, Tsukishima. You’re here. When did you arrive?”

“Just now. Tendou-san had to drag me from the reporters back there. It was nasty.”

“Yeah, it is. Have the crowd dispersed yet?” They both looked towards the window that was closed by heavy velvet curtains, hoping to catch a glimpse of the situation outside, but nothing. Make sense since the reporters would probably try their hardest to get a photo of anything going on inside the setter’s house.

“How long have they been camping out there?”

“Uh, not long. When I came, there weren’t as many as now but they all started gathering that much about this evening. We all thought when the night came, they’d be tired and would go home. But nope, they’re kinda persistent if you ask me.”

“More like annoying.” Sugawara laughed at that.

“Yeah, that too.”

“Well, I would love to talk more, but I’m here for Kageyama actually. Do you know where he is?”

“Oh, he’s probably in his room upstairs. There are people there, so you can ask them where his room is.” He thanked the former setter before walking up the spiral staircase at the middle of the vast living room that brought him to the second floor. True to Suga’s earlier words, there were Hinata, Miya and Sakusa sitting on the couches, talking slowly. They all stopped talking when they heard footsteps going up the stairs and looked as Tsukishima appeared from the steps.

“Hi, I want to see Kageyama. Care to tell me where his room is?”

“It’s the second one on your left.” The blonde nodded at Hinata who answered him before going where he was directed to. He knocked on the door lightly and waited for a response patiently.

“It’s open.” Slowly, Tsukishima turned the knob of the door as he stepped into the setter’s room. Compare to everything that looked extravagant in his house, with the expensive looking velvet curtains matched with even more grand looking couches downstairs, the arts hanging across the vast white-colored wall, he expected Kageyama’s room to be decorated as such. But when he entered, it was nothing but ordinary. It probably looked the exact same way as when the setter was in high school because it still had the volleyball awards neatly arranged on the top shelf, with some old volleyball magazines stacking on the desk and even a volleyball signed by everyone on the team that Karasuno gave him as a birthday present for their last year. As he marveled over Kageyama’s room, something caught his attention. A framed family photo. In that picture, standing next to the young Kageyama was another younger boy with the same hair and familiar look. Behind him stood a couple, most probably his parents but what was off about the picture was, the mother in the photo looked nothing like Kageyama’s mother that passed away. She had very similar dark locks that Kageyama and his younger have, and Kageyama’s blue eyes definitely inherited from the woman.

“Hey Tsukishima.” He turned around to see the setter that just got out of the bathroom.

“Hey. Sorry to barge in.”

“It’s fine. Didn’t expect to see you here actually.” Kageyama said nonchalantly as he walked to his room’s window before pushing the curtains covering it slightly to get a glimpse of the situation outside his house.

“Well, uh, I just wanted to make sure you were okay and if you needed any help. You know, for the funeral. But it turns out, you got your whole team helping you out.” Kageyama turned around and faced the surgeon with furrowed eyebrows.

“No you’re not.” That… was not what Tsukishima expected to come out of his mouth.

“Excuse me?”

“No, you are not here because you wanted to help me. It’s just so that you have an illusion that you _tried_ to help me, so that you can tell yourself every night from today that we’re good and it’s not your fault that this happened. Which, seriously is not your fault anyway. And I’m being serious again, you _really_ didn’t have to come.” That left Tsukishima gaping like a fish at Kageyama who wasn’t looking guilty nor mad saying what he said as he stared deep into his eyes.

“O...kay. So, are you telling me that I am not welcome to come for the funeral, or you just don’t need my help?” Kageyama sighed as he ruffled his hair mess.

“Yeah, actually I don’t need your help. Not that I don’t appreciate it, I do. But honestly Tsukishima, even if I needed help, you wouldn’t be on my list of people who I would’ve called. I mean, we haven’t talked for like 10 years. And be honest with me, you’re only here because you were the one that was in the room when my mom died. _Not_ because she was your patient, _nor_ because I was your friend.”

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation before Kageyama opened the door to reveal Ushijima outside of it standing next to Tendou.

“The crowd’s gone, but we can still have the guards stay for the night. Pretty sure the lunatics will be here even before the dawn breaks tomorrow.” The three of them kept on talking as they walked out of the room, leaving Tsukishima still surprised by the setter’s confrontation against him. He felt like he just got slapped across his face because he knew what Kageyama said hit home for him. He wasn’t there because Kageyama was a friend, let alone his former teammate, hell if he truly appreciated their friendship he wouldn’t have been mia for the past 10 years not even bothering to hit any of them up. And he certainly wasn’t there because Kageyama’s mother was a patient, because she _wasn’t_ his patient in the first place, and even if she was, he would most probably not even go to her funeral if her son wasn’t Kageyama, he has never gone to any of his patients’ funeral up until now anyway. So, that left him with being, exactly what Kageyama said, just going to the funeral because he needed to not feel guilty for everything bad he had ever done to the setter.

“You okay there?” Hinata snuck his head into the room as Tsukishima startled out of his thoughts. He looked at the ginger who hadn’t grown an inch since high school but managed to look more mature now than he used to. Oh, Hinata was still a ball of sunshine everywhere he goes, but at least he knows when to tone down his moods during moments like these.

“I was a jerk, wasn’t I?” That got him a raised eyebrow as Hinata stepped into the room before leaning on his side against the wall.

“You have your moments, but yeah. You were. Why?”

“Oh gee thanks for being honest Hinata.”

“It’s what I do best. But seriously though, what’s wrong? Did you just got your ass handed to you by Kageyama or something?” He took a deep breath as he looked the other way, more specifically, looking at the family picture hanging on Kageyama’s wall next to his shelf of awards.

“Yeah actually.” Hinata chuckled at that which made him looked back at the small wing spiker as he gave him an incredulous look of unappreciation.

“Tsukishima, you seriously _did not_ just get offended by what Kageyama said right? The guy is a blunt, remember? I thought the two of you grew out of getting pissed off at what each other’s words when we entered our third year together. Relax, he probably didn’t even mean anything bad by it, probably didn’t even know that he offended you.” As much as he wanted to believe that, which was very much believable because ever since their first year they were always on each other’s throat. Tsukishima never really had anything against anyone that would call him out on things but when it comes from Kageyama, all he saw was red. Everything sounded offensive when the setter pointed it out and he couldn’t help but shoot back at him. Eventually they both got over it, probably because their underclassmen were practically pissing them off even more than each other. Tsukishima had gotten used to Kageyama’s _advice_ and Kageyama actually toned down on his _annoying_ comments about his plays and moves.

“Yeah well, I still think what he said to me was right.”

“And what exactly _did_ he say to you?”

“That I’m not here to become a supportive _friend,_ if he even considers me as one, rather I’m just here to feed my guilt over being such a jerk to him.” Hinata sighed as he smiled at Tsukishima. Truly the sun, because it lightened up the mood slightly even when the ginger didn’t even speak a single work of reassurance.

“Look, if all these years I spent around Kageyama ever taught me is that he doesn’t hold grudge for long. I could assure you that he had forgiven anything offensive you did to him back then. I mean, we’re kids, we do stupid stuff. But, if you still feel bad for what happened 10 years ago, then apologize.” Someone called out Hinata’s name from downstairs and the ginger excused himself as he gave him a reassuring pat on his arm before leaving him with his thoughts. 

He was glad Hinata had said what he did because he truly needed to hear it. Guess the ginger can’t be called a simpleton nowadays because the guy was pretty insightful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey remember that professional exam, pretty sure I flunked it, and there went my $225. Okay, enough of that. I told you it was slow paced, and I mean it, if you're hoping for the fluff, well you ain't getting one any time soon. This will be rollercoaster ride of angst and it will be a lot stuff they both will have to go through before I present you the fluff. So, if you're willing to come for the ride, be my guest. Or you can just wait for I don't know months until this fic is done and read it then.
> 
> Anyway, hope you had a wonderful or will have a wonderful day. Comments and feedbacks are more than lovely. Thanks :D


	3. Chapter 3

Kageyama was cooking in the kitchen with Hinata when Tsukishima finally gathered his courage to apologize and went to find the setter. The smell of the spaghetti sauce that encompassed the kitchen made him hungry all of a sudden which reminded him that he hadn’t had anything to eat after arriving Miyagi. Hinata was the one who noticed Tsukishima’s presence and nodded at the blonde.

“Kageyama, you got this, right? I need to call my mom for a while if you don’t mind.”

“Yeah, just have to wait a little while for the pasta to cook completely while stir the sauce until it thickens and add some salt to taste, if it needs any. I can handle that.” Hinata excused himself as he gave Tsukishima an encouraging pat on his arm, all without the setter even knowing that there was someone else in the kitchen with him.

“Kageyama.” The setter jumped slightly when Tsukishima called out to him and turned around with a surprised look, something that looked very comical to the blonde, but he cleared his throat trying to hide his snicker.

“You scared me, idiot.’

“Sorry, didn’t mean to.” Kageyama turned back around and took a small portion of the sauce before carefully tasting it. He took another portion of it and turned back to face Tsukishima again while holding out the spoon.

“Mind tasting this? I need a second opinion.”

“Uh, I’m probably the last person you’d want a second opinion on food tasting. I’m a bad cook.”

“So? Just take a bite, you don’t have to know how to cook to taste if it’s bad or not. And I burned my tongue tasting this sauce just now, I seriously need a second opinion.” Well, the setter made kind of a sound argument and Tsukishima took a step closer towards him and leaned down slightly as Kageyama spoon-fed him the sauce.

“Uhum, am I interrupting something back here?” They both looked at the male at the kitchen’s entrance who looked at them with a playful smirk. Tsukishima stood back up straight.

“The sauce tastes good in my opinion. Didn’t know you could cook Hinata.”

“Well, I helped my mother out at home a lot, so I picked up a few cooking skills. Is the pasta done? I’m seriously starving.” Kageyama nodded as he slowly took the cooked spaghetti and put it in the saucepan before mixing the pasta well with the carbonara sauce. The setter threw in some chopped parsley and grated some parmesan cheese on top of it.

“All done. Can the both of you bring the plates and glasses to the dining table?” They both nodded and Hinata led Tsukishima to where the cutleries were being stored.

“You know, I gave you a window to apologize to the guy, not flirt with him.” Tsukishima gave him a look.

“I wasn’t flirting, he was the one who asked me to taste the sauce, which I did.” Hinata was so not buying his words as he picked up the plates while Tsukishima took the glasses.

“Sure. And of course it has nothing to do with the fact that you had a crush on him back in high school.” Tsukishima almost dropped the very expensive looking glasses on the floor at that.

“How’d you know about that?” Tsukishima practically had to hiss his whispers at Hinata as he lowered himself to reach the short wing spiker’s ears and Hinata was actually having the time of his life making Tsukishima flustered.

“Oh come on. Everyone knows that. Well, everyone _except_ Kageyama of course. He’s so oblivious, it’s painful to watch. And you… you couldn’t be more obvious about your crush. I remembered how gooey eyed you looked when Kageyama baked you that strawberry shortcake during our third year.” Hinata just smiled devilishly at the shocked Tsukishima who was standing next to him.

“What took you guys so long? Everyone’s starving.” Kageyama broke their trance and Tsukishima just shrugged his way past Kageyama hoping to save his embarrassed look from his two former teammates.

“Coming your highness, Chibi here just couldn’t reach the top shelf and I _had_ to help him get some of the plates is all.” Hinata rose to the bait as he started spewing spouts at Tsukishima who completely ignored him, no sting behind it of course. Kageyama snickered at that as he started pouring wine on each glass.

“Oh wow. I seriously don’t miss you Tsukishima.” Sugawara chuckled at the scene in front of him as he helped out by passing the plates across the table.

“This brings back old memories.” Like that, they all fell into a lighter mood as they feast the meal prepared. It didn’t feel like everyone had gathered there for a funeral, Sakusa who watched the setter attentively with his observant eyes was more than glad that it did. He was getting worried about Kageyama by the second, so it was great for the raven-haired male to wind down from all his worries that of course he wouldn’t share with anyone, including the wing spiker himself. Another glance to Kageyama’s opposite, he looked at the glasses wearing surgeon that was effortlessly keeping Kageyama on his toes, shooting sarcastic comments here and there while Kageyama nonchalantly retorted back, they both might’ve not seen each other for a long time, but the rhythm they had going between them was very fascinating to watch. Tsukishima on the other hand completely forgot what he was supposed to do and talking to the setter again sparked something inside of him that he thought was gone a long time ago. 

* * *

The funeral went by quite smoothly after police and of course Tendou’s band of yesterday’s securities got involved. Even after the national team’s publicist stepped in and told the press to respect Kageyama and let the ceremony went by smoothly, those people just don’t understand. Was it really that important to get an inside scoop rather than being a dignified human being? And none of them even bid him their condolences but just wanted to catch a glimpse of the genius setter being in a slump. Not that Kageyama was giving much because he was probably born with that scowl of his so basically every photo they had of him during the burial was exactly the same expression he had whenever they would interview him after each game.

Many people left after the burial took place at the cemetery but there are some that stayed, mainly those who actually was very close to Kageyama. Which, in the setter’s case was the people he played volleyball with. Former Karasuno members including Shimizu stayed behind at his place helping things like some cleaning, to some former Kitaiichi turning Seijoh members and of course everyone on the national team was there. Made Tsukishima wondered of how close the team was and how caring they all were towards Kageyama, something he never tried to do back in high school. Yet here he was, at Kageyama’s living room surrounded by many familiar faces yet feeling so out of place. Yes, he had a crush on Kageyama back then but he was just _that_ immature to admit it and be decent with the guy, instead to _show_ his unexpected likings towards Kageyama, words of insults were always thrown to him. Until eventually of course it became more of a routine for the both of them to greet each other that way and had lost its biting end.

It should be the end of that story now, but something was gnawing his guilt deep within his guts. He was supposed to apologize yesterday, but he got caught up with their usual banter during dinner and got home quite satisfied being able to at least form coherent sentences in front of Kageyama only to slump on his own bed that night berating himself for not doing the thing that he intended to do. So, he started looking for the familiar mop of black hair around the room only to find nothing which led him to climb the stairs thinking that maybe Kageyama was in his room again. The guy wasn’t that much of a fan with crowds anyway, maybe he needed some space especially after burying his own mother not three hours ago.

When he reached up the stairs, he saw that Kageyama was actually taking a nap on the couch upstairs. Laying down across the flush red fabric with his suit and tie discarded on the next seat and the back of his right hand was brought up to cover his eyes. Of course he would be sleeping, he was most probably exhausted. He has been handling the funeral by himself, even when there were people around him ready to lend a hand, he was actually _prepared._ And Tsukishima had to admit that Kageyama handled it very well, not that he ever doubted him, it’s just that Tsukishima has been around people when their loved ones died one too many times, and very little of them act as calm as Kageyama was for the past few days.

Tsukishima let out a sigh, because deep down he knew, Kageyama was probably bundling all of it up inside of him. He turned his head to the wall on his right and saw another photo frame of what seemed like his family photo. A different picture than the one he saw inside of Kageyama’s room, but the same people were there. A very young innocent looking Kageyama standing next to a snowman who was getting a hat put on him by another younger male that looked similar to Kageyama, probably his brother. Holding out a scarf was the female that looked like the two boys but nothing like the woman they had buried that day which made him questioned who is the woman if it’s not his mother and also a man that Tsukishima could only assume was his father.

The picture looked like any normal family picture, but the question is, where is everyone. Tsukishima couldn’t help but notice that no one has been introduced to him as Kageyama’s family. At least no one in those pictures he saw.

“Tsukishima?” He turned his head back around to see that Kageyama was already awake as he rubbed the last remnants of sleep out of his eyes and yawned before staring back at the blonde’s direction.

“What time is it?”

“Uh, just a little over 2. You should go to bed if you want to continue sleeping, save you the pain you’re gonna have on your neck this evening.” Kageyama stood up and stretched slightly as his spines made popping noises putting it to place.

“Nah, there are still people here. It would be rude to just sleep and let them leave by themselves.”

“If you needed the rest, you should really take them. Everyone would probably understand if you’re exhausted. Anyway, Sakusa-san has been acting as the host for quite a while now. I’m sure he can handle them.” Kageyama just smiled at that as he scooped his abandoned clothing pieces and went back into his room. He got out of his room with only a black shirt few minutes later and face still damp probably just washed it to freshen himself up.

“So, what are you doing up here?”

“Uh, yeah. Actually, I was gonna apologize to you, you know, for everything I did. Back in high school.” The blue-eyed male just stared back at him, blinking a few times as his eyebrows furrowed and looking very much confused to what was being told to him.

“What exactly did you do anyway?” The nape of Tsukishima’s neck felt itchy all of a sudden but he wasn’t that kid who was gonna get into stupid petty arguments again over Kageyama’s kinda slow reaction over stuff.

“Everything. I wasn’t exactly a pony-ride to be around with.”

“Well, I wasn’t either. Anyway, we were kids, I’m not that offended anyway and I’m very much over it by now. You should too.”

“Yeah, well I can’t. Not until I apologized and I guess until you _forgive me_?” Something tugged by the end of Kageyama’s mouth as it rose into a grin and Tsukishima eyebrow just twitched at the scene in front of him because Kageyama had the guts in him to make fun of him and his sorry ass apology right now. And he thought they were all grown up and mature.

“Gosh, it’s so weird to hear you apologize. Now I get why you hate it when I say sorry. But seriously though, it’s all in the past, and if it means that much to you _I forgive you._ ”

“Really? Because you sounded kinda pissed off when I talked to you in your room last night.”

“I did? I’m not pissed off, it’s just… the truth.” Yup, he really didn’t realize what he said actually ate Tsukishima up inside, even when without it the blonde needed no help to feel guilty for his behavior. He was startled when he felt his body being pushed to turn around towards the stairs as Kageyama steered him to go back down with him, babbling about how it was silly of him to take what he said seriously and that he was starving. Since Kageyama was actually in a talking mood, Tsukishima just casually asked what has been playing in his mind for quite a while now.

“So, who’s the people in the picture hanging on the wall and inside your room?” Kageyama’s step faltered for a second before he covered it as he walked back normally. He has been keeping eye contact with Tsukishima as they chattered down the stairs but it was gone now as the setter kept his gaze straight and avoiding Tsukishima’s eyes.

“Uh, they’re my family. But they’re gone now.” Tsukishima could only come up with a small _oh_ at that. It definitely wasn’t something Kageyama wanted to talk about, so Tsukishima knew he just crossed a line he shouldn’t have at that.

* * *

Sunday went by in a blink of an eye as he spent some time with his parents catching up before going back to Tokyo around 9. His mind was still heavy with Kageyama and the questions of his family. There must be so much more behind that story which the setter didn’t want to share with him. He shouldn’t pry much, it _wasn’t_ his business to pry and it was Kageyama’s. If the guy didn’t want to talk about it, then he should just let it go. But he was curious and something in his mind was just pulling to figure it out.

_More like something in his heart tugged that small crush he had into wanting to know about the setter in general._

“Something’s bugging you Tsukishima?” He looked up from his patient’s file to the Chief of Resident, Haruhi standing next to him.

“Nothing, just tired is all.”

“Oh yeah, I heard you just got back this morning from Miyagi. How was it?”

“Well, it’s definitely a change of scenery than the city and just the thing I needed right now.” She hummed in pleasant. Haruhi was a neurosurgeon, same age as Tsukishima and Tsubaki and just as competitive as the two. But rather than hating the other residents, everyone actually liked Haruhi. She is just genuinely a kind person, who looked too kind for the program but could slay in the operating table. If Tsukishima wasn’t so into guys, he’s probably be all over her.

“Gosh, I’m so jealous of you. I think I need a break too.” He snorted at that as he continued to read his patient’s chart.

“Sure, you getting a break is as likely as the moon falling on Earth.” That earned him a poke on his side which he couldn’t help but wince at.

“Shut up! I could say the same about you but lo and behold, you took a break not on any week, but during the week of that heart conference.” The blonde just sighed at that.

“You don’t have to remind me of that you know.” Haruhi’s pager just beeped and she took a glance of it before putting down the file she’s been holding on the counter.

“Must be an important friend if you had to skip that conference.” With a squeeze on his arm, she was gone. Her words lingered with him a few seconds too long in his head.

“Must be.” He said with a smile gracing his face before heading to the patient whose file he’s been reading for the past ten minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this update took me forever. Anyway enjoy that.


	4. Chapter 4

“Great, I’m on ER duty for the night. Just the on-call shift I want.” Tsubaki patted Tsukishima at the back, both as a reassurance and also a sarcastic tap, just to get back on the guy for making fun of him after he had to endure 12 hours in the ER during his previous on call shift. Tsukishima just swatted the shorter male’s hand away as he walked to the ER. There’s nothing wrong with having a shift down in the emergency room, hell some of the most interesting cases come from there where he would help and give his surgical consultations. But, it is also some of the most hectic places that consists stupider people doing idiotic shit cases more often than not. And when someone gets a shift down there, it wouldn’t matter whether if he’s a fourth-year heart surgical resident, he would have to do almost everything, from fixing a broken arm, doing sutures or even just treat stomach aches. Well, maybe tonight he could just have the interns do the dirty work for him.

“Hey Tsukishima."

“Hey, Usui. So, what do you have for me on this very blissful night.” The ER doctor in charge that night chuckled at that, as he scrolled down on the hospital’s tablet, checking which patient that needed to be treated first.

“Blissful indeed. You’re in for a luck tonight. It’s rarely this quiet. But, just to spice up your night, there’s a patient with an open head wound on bed 7, might wanna check that. I’ve ordered for a CT and a neuro consult but Haruhi and Takumi are both in the OR at the moment, can I let you hold the fort as of right now?” Tsukishima took the patient’s chart handed to him.

“Yeah sure, I’ll see what I can do, but I wouldn’t push my luck that for that blissful night, still too early to tell.” He walked away from the main desk and headed towards bed 7 which was located inside of a more private room, mostly to treat any bad injuries that involve a lot of blood and would scare the other patients if were to be put out in the open.

“Hi, I’m Tsukishima Kei. Your doctor for tonigh-

He stopped on his track when he finally looked up from the chart and stared at one bleeding Kageyama Tobio that was surrounded by the very familiar faces of Hinata, Sakusa and Miya.

“Oh, you’re dead.” Hinata whispered at Kageyama who in turn smacked him right at the back of his ginger head. He was holding a towel over his injury but the blood has seeped through the cloth and now was staining the fabric red. Tsukishima walked towards his _patient_ , god knows what these idiots did that had caused this ordeal. And the temperature in the room dropped ever so slightly as Tsukishima just stared very coldly at his two former teammates who he had a bad feeling was the cause of this.

Tsukishima took a pair of gloves on the closet and slipped into them before sitting down next to Kageyama and took hold of the cloth as Kageyama dropped his hand and looked at the wound. It wasn’t too deep, but the bleeding looks bad and wasn’t stopping.

“Spill.”

“He’s drunk and-

“I’m not drunk!”

“You are, don’t deny it.”

“I really am not, Sakusa-san, it was barely a drin-

“You finished like what, three bottles of whiskey?”

“Okay now you’re exaggerating.”

Tsukishima took a deep breath as everyone inside the room was talking over each other evaluating whether the setter was drunk or not, not even answering his question. The exact reason why he was never a fan of the ER, even if the person on the bed was his crush.

“O...kay, you guys are not helping. I need to check for a concussion, but I need to know if whatever caused this bleeding could actually cause a concussion or not.”

“We’ve checked, he doesn’t have a concussion.” Sakusa added, ticking him off.

“Well, I’m the doctor here, so I’ll make the call.” Kageyama snorted at that, feeling kinda impressed that Tsukishima managed to shut Sakusa up. The only person he knew could ever do that to Sakusa was _him._ Since the whole average thing back in high school.

“Hinata, speak, everyone else shut up, and that includes you.” He looked sharply at Kageyama before staring at the ginger who was standing to the setter’s left.

“Again, he was drunk and the floor was kinda wet. So, Kageyama our genius here had to stumble at the spot and fall with his head knocking on the edge of the coffee table.” He looked back around and received some nods as a confirmation of the story. _The cut isn’t deep but he hit his head, better be safe to check._

A knock on the door revealed an intern before he stepped inside and handed Tsukishima the scan.

“Here’s the CT scan ordered earlier.”

“Thanks.” Tsukishima took the scan and held it up towards the light before his eyebrows started to twitch as he felt more eyes on him. He was right because when he turned his head around, everyone was almost a breath away from the back of his head.

“Do you guys mind giving me some work space and you’re right. He doesn’t have a concussion but I’m still going to call for a neuro consult just to be safe. Can you page Haruhi again?” The intern nodded his head before getting out of the room, but the other male in the room were still not budging from their position, reluctant to give Tsukishima some air to work.

So, he decided to just toy with them all as he casually took a needle and started putting some anesthetics into it before moving towards Kageyama.

“W-wait. What are you doing?” Miya voiced as he watched the needle with a horrified look.

“I need to suture his wound before it gets infected.” Now everyone was starting to get restless, except the male lying on the bed. Kageyama for some reason was looking very enthralled by the device held in between Tsukishima’s fingers and the blonde had to stifle his laugh from bursting out loud because Kageyama looked like a child with his eyes so wide like that.

“Nooo way, I’m out. If you need anything Yamayama-kun, I’m outside.”

“I’m sure you’re in good hands here with Tobio-kun. I’ll also be waiting outside.”

“The hospital has too many germs, I-I think I need another pair of mask.”

And just like that, everyone said their excuses and left the injured setter alone in the hands of Tsukishima.

“Are you really going to suture me or were you just doing that to scare them?” Tsukishima smiled at that.

“Both, I am indeed going to have to inject this onto your face _but_ only after I finish cleaning your wound first.” He dipped a clean piece of towel with some sterile water and peroxide before concentrating back at the patient lying on the bed.

“This is gonna sting a bit, so you need to endure the pain for a few seconds.” Tsukishima waited for Kageyama to nod his head as an agreement before gently dabbing the wet cloth onto the setter’s head. Just as told, Kageyama hissed slightly at the burning sensation on his wound. When he assessed that the wound has been cleaned, he dabbed some antiseptic solution around the wound area, before finally taking hold of the earlier needle he was holding.

“Okay, you’re going to feel numb somewhere around the area of your head after I inject you with this, and after that I need you to be still before I start sewing your wound close.”

_Don’t want to ruin that pretty face of yours._

“Okay.” The doctor scooted closer towards Kageyama and shook his head slightly as he smiled looking at the male lying on the bed.

“You are drunk, aren’t you?”

“I… might have taken a few drinks.” The setter winced as he felt the needle punctured through his skin.

“Never pegged you as someone who drinks a lot.”

“I don’t. But it’s been a long week.” Kageyama answered, eyes still shut closed with his eyebrows furrowed probably waiting for his face to start feeling numb.

“Hmm, tell me about it."

“The season ended already, well, after we won the world cup. So, the next game is probably in a couple of months. And coach of course thinks I’m _mentally unstable_ to work and train again, forbade me from entering the gym. Anyway, I haven’t had a cheat day for too long, thought it wouldn’t hurt to do it once in a while, but guess I was wrong because here I am.” Tsukishima hummed as he stared back at Kageyama who looked more relaxed now, still with his eyes closed. Carefully, he pulled the suture needle with the thread attached to it and started sewing the wound with skilled hands all the while keeping up a conversation with the setter. Kageyama was surprisingly talkative and Tsukishima didn't know whether it was because of the drinks he had, or has he become friendlier over the past 10 years. They slipped into a conversation quite easily as Kageyama shared that he trained usually around 6 hours a day during off-season and what exactly their diet routines are.

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You’re a surgeon, I bet you work crazy hours. How do you feed yourself if your schedules are hectic?” Tsukishima laughed at that.

“There’s this thing call takeout and restaurants, Kageyama. You should try it sometimes.”

“Can’t, I’m on a strict diet, remember?”

“Well, when you feel like having another cheat day, I’ll take you out.” Tsukishima cut the remaining thread and looked back at his work. Feeling satisfied, he grabbed a bandage and covered the stitches gently.

“I’m done.” Kageyama opened his eyes and Tsukishima was reminded of how blue the setter’s eyes were and couldn’t help but stare into it. Kageyama was about to push himself up when Tsukishima stopped him.

“Wait, we still need to wait for a neuro consult. I can’t let you stand yet.”

“I thought you said I was clear from a concussion.”

“Yes, but it never hurts to be safe.” He dropped back down onto the bed and closed his eyes shut again. His head was dizzy anyway and he was sure if Tsukishima didn’t stop him just now, he would’ve stumbled on his footing when he stood up. He mumbled something under his breath remembering what Tsukishima said before he was done stitching him up.

“Did you say something?” Tsukishima looked up from Kageyama’s chart that he was updating.

“I said, if I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought you were asking me out just now.” Took Tsukishima a few seconds to catch on what the setter was referring about and when it did, he stuttered for words to explain himself.

“U-uh, I mean, you know, to hang out. I’m sure there’s a lot of things that we could catch up on.” Kageyama peeked open one of his eyes, looking up at Tsukishima who was hiding his embarrassed face under his glasses. A knock on the door saved his embarrassment from spreading even more and made a fool out of himself.

Haruhi entered with a smile.

“Hey, you called for a consult?” Tsukishima took the scans and left the room to speak to the Chief of Resident.

“Yeah. Mind taking a look at this CT scan, just need to make sure that I didn’t miss anything.” Tsukishima handed her the scans as she took it.

“Sure. And… it all looks perfectly fine to me. Did he hit his head?” The male nodded.

“Then, just to be safe, I would make him stay and see how he’s doing for the night. If everything’s good tomorrow, we can discharge him.” Tsukishima thanked her before she left the ER. Just as he was about to enter Kageyama’s room again, his name was called.

“Tsukishima! You done with patient in bed 7?” Usui shouted which alarmed the surgeon.

“Yeah, do we have someone coming?”

“Pileup in the highway and they’re coming here in 5. Can you clear him out of the ER? We need the space.”

“Yeah, sure. You, come with me.” He stopped an intern who walked past him before going back into Kageyama’s room.

“Well the neurosurgeon I consulted said you’re fine, but just to be safe, we’re keeping you for tonight. You good with that?” Kageyama nodded as he looked at Tsukishima sharply, sensing that the blonde was in a hurry.

“Good, this doctor over here is going to move you to another ward.” He turned back to look at the scared intern and with a stern face gave him his instructions.

“Get him up to the second floor and tell me if any of his stats changed. Probably won’t but no one can be sure. If I’m busy, call Haruhi. Got that?” The male nodded furiously as he led Kageyama to sit on the wheelchair before pushing him out of the room.

Tsukishima took a deep breath and got out of the room as he slipped into a new pair of gloves waiting for the ambulance to arrive. He didn’t have to wait long as he stepped outside the ER door, the siren was blaring already and flashing lights blinding his eyes a couple of seconds. And just like that his so called quiet night was occupied.

* * *

“Time of death, 7:28 am.” Tsukishima took off his gloves as he announced the death of the third patient that morning. He got out of the OR and let out a shaky breath with another hand brought up to ruffle his already messy blonde hair. He took off his glasses and pinched his eyes where he could feel the pressure building up from the stress and exhaustion that he knew already engulfed him. The death of patients that night didn’t help, _it never helps_. The worse part of all was that his last patient was a 7-year old kid whose heart got punctured by the shard of glass of the car’s window. He was lucky to not have died on scene but the moment they opened him up to take out the pieces, he was bleeding faster than they could stop.

“Tsukishima.” He jumped slightly when a hand touched his shoulder, only to find Haruhi looking at him with worry eyes. Other than that, she looked just as bad as him, exhausted and stressed, but unlike him, she graced her face with a smile that helped Tsukishima regained his composure.

“Hey. Do you need anything?”

“Nope, just wanted to say that you’re free to clock out.” Tsukishima looked confused at her words.

“But I’m not off until 8. Besides, we still need more hands.”

“No, you’ve handled enough. Half an hour wouldn’t hurt anyone.” That, was a lie. There are a lot of things that can happen in 30 minutes. People _can_ get hurt, they _can die._

“Look, you’ve drained all your energy already. Even if you stay, I’ll make you go to the lounge and take a nap because you are not in a state to treat anyone right now. Do both of us a favor and go home.” He wanted to argue with her but she was right. He was out, he didn’t even have it in him to defend himself, so he walked back to the lounge, changed into his clothes and walked out. He was about to exit through the hospital’s door when he remembered something and walked back to the nurse’s station before grabbing a tablet. He scrolled down to find Kageyama’s name and when he clicked it, it showed that the setter has been discharged.

“If you're looking for Kageyama-kun, he got cleared to leave by Haruhi-sensei about half an hour ago.” Ayumi, the head nurse at the station said.

“Oh. Okay, how did you know-”

“That you were looking through Kageyama-kun’s file? I talked to him for a while and he told me that you guys were former volleyball teammates back in high school. Why didn't you tell anyone that you knew almost half the starting players of Japan's national volleyball team?” He scratched the back of his neck contemplating what to tell her.

“I don't see the point to it. Besides, we aren’t exactly close.” Nurse Ayumi raised her eyebrows with the tone Tsukishima was using. It was indeed a statement but somehow he sounded _disappointed_ by it.

“Just ask him out, Tsukishima.” The surgeon almost dropped the tablet he was holding hearing those words, what with fatigue was taking over his body, he wouldn’t be able to bear such nonsense. _Sure Jan._

“Ayumi-san, what are you going on about?”

“Look, I have lived long enough and witnessed far too many people pining over one another to know that you are definitely in the ditch because of this boy. Not that I can blame you, I mean he’s very good looking.”

“I was just looking over his file and you assumed that I’m pining over him? That’s ridiculous.” Tsukishima put the tablet back down onto the counter and clocked out of his shift as the nurse rolled her eyes eyeing the man's antics. He was very tired indeed and was more than ready to jump onto his very nice bed for a well-deserved rest when Nurse Ayumi spoke.

“I’m not asking you to marry him. You said it yourself, you guys aren’t close. So, what harm is it to just ask him out? If he says no, then fine, you’ll move on. If he says yes, now that’s a gossip I would really love to spread over the hospital.” He gave her a look before he sighed loudly and pointed a finger at her.

“Don’t. Just, don’t. I’m too tired for this. Goodbye Ayumi-san.” The woman chuckled as Tsukishima grunted his disapproval of her behavior under his breath all the way to the exit.

“Kids these days.” Nurse Ayumi shook her head with a smile still on her face as she went back to the task at hand.

* * *

Considering the fact that he had worked a straight 12-hour shift, in the ER no less, he should be exhausted right now. Well, he _is_ exhausted indeed, but somehow he couldn’t seem to fall asleep even when he had already shut his eyes for almost half an hour yet nothing. Every single muscle in his body was screaming from the work he exerted them to do last night, yet his also tired mind has another agenda. Tsukishima turned to his left side and again tried going back to sleep _because he needs it_ but nope, he was still awake. The surgeon grunted before he let his palm fell over his eyes as he straightened his body.

“This is ridiculous.” He peeked one eye open and eyed his phone placed on his bedside table. A second of contemplation and he shook his head before closing his eyes shut again.

_You’re exhausted. Go to sleep for god’s sake!_

_Tick. Tock. Tick._

Never did he ever have an urge to smash the clock hanging on his wall opposite to his bed that badly as the ticking sound started ringing loudly in his ears, disrupting any attempts he was trying to get himself into slumber land.

“Fuck it.” He sat up to the edge of his bed and reached his phone as he unlocked it and went to his contact list.

“I have no idea what you’re so nervous about. It’s Kageyama, it’s only Kageyama. I mean, what’s so scary about the king anyway.” _Nurse Ayumi, this is all your fault._ A deep breath and he could feel himself relax by the action.

“Okay, you got this.” He scrolled the list to the letter K before he slapped his own forehead.

_He didn’t have the setter’s phone number._

Tsukishima plopped back down onto his bed as he cursed under his breath. He already mustered the courage to ask him out, and the most important thing one needs to ask someone out was the thing that he _didn’t_ have. He could always ask Yamaguchi, who would have to ask Hinata for Kageyama’s number and by the time the setter’s contact information reaches him, he was sure the whole world has already known the fact that he was garnering a stupid crush for the blue-eyed male. 10 years, _10 years_ apparently was not long enough for him to get over his stupid high school crush for the annoying simpleton, king of the court.

The sound of his message tone broke him out of his own thoughts and when he looked who it was from, his heart almost fell from its place.

 

From: +8142XXXXXXX

Hi Tsukishima, it’s Kageyama. You gave me your number when we first met at the hospital, so just dropped by to see if you’d like to meet up anytime soon. Catching up sounds fun after all.

 

He was grinning so hard like a pining school girl and practically had to calm his heartbeat down as it felt like it was going to burst out of his own chest. This was why he always hated having crushes, because apparently, it was bad for his health. Took him a few seconds to get himself composed before he saved the setter’s number and typed in his reply.

 

To: Kageyama

Sure. I’m free tomorrow if you’re available.

 

From: Kageyama

Yeah, that sounds good. See you tomorrow then. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a lot of things I want to say for this chapter, so I really hope those who read this fic read this.
> 
> 1\. I have no knowledge at all about Japanese lettering system, thus 'scrolling of his contact number to the letter k.'
> 
> 2\. If you don't understand the 'Sure Jan' reference please let me know. Just in case if it totally does not go well with the fic or anything. I just felt like writing it, but do tell me what do you think.
> 
> 3\. LAST but NOT the least. This, will probably be the best chapter for those with delicate hearts to ditch this fic because after this chapter I will slowly attract you with cute and tooth rotting fluff. BUT after that, I will slowly pluck your tooth out one by one as the angst starts showing itself and believe me when I say that at the end of this fic, you will hate me and you will hate yourself for reading through this fic because one thing I can promise, it will be painful.  
> Conclusion, BAIL NOW!
> 
> Overall, if you're cool with all of the above points, I hoped you enjoyed that chapter, and let me know if I did any mistake in the techniques, grammar, sentence structure because I am not an English major, nor am I a native English speaker and I am still improving on my writing skills. Have a nice day/night peeps.


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